A low-grade persisting viraemia despite long-term treatment with highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) has previously been demonstrated in HIV-1-infected patients. Whether ongoing viral replication also could be detected in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) in those circumstances has not been studied before.
Methods
Paired CSF and blood samples from 13 neurologically asymptomatic HIV-1-infected patients on stable HAART were analysed regarding HIV-1 RNA, by using a PCR assay with a detection limit of 2 copies/ml.
Results
All 13 patients had HIV-1 RNA <2 copies/ml in CSF, compared with 8/13 in plasma.
Conclusion
We could not demonstrate any persistent viral replication in the CSF of neurologically asymptomatic HIV-1-infected patients on effective HAART, rendering it unlikely that CSF acts as a viral reservoir in this category of patients.
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